我们的Inside XR Design系列探索了沉浸式设计的最佳实践。今天我们将讨论如何只使用游戏内画面制作出精彩的VR预告片。不需要混合现实设置，也不需要复杂的合成处理，只需要精心策划和一个经过验证的方法。首先是亮点，让你的游戏脱颖而出的东西。无论是战斗、艺术风格、创意武器还是独特机制，都应该在同类游戏中与众不同地娱乐或有趣。其次是展示，而不是告诉。好的预告片不是告诉你游戏有多好，而是展示给你看。在VR中特别重要，因为人们需要看到乐趣才能理解为什么要体验你的游戏。最后是讲故事，向观众展示他们在玩游戏时将要做什么以及他们会有什么样的感受。你应该决定要展示哪些关键时刻，并将它们安排成一个有引言、上升动作和高潮的故事结构。
【完整版英文】
Our Inside XR Design series explores best practices for immersive design. Today we're discussing how to create an impressive VR trailer using only in-game footage. No mixed reality setups, no complex compositing, just careful planning and a proven method. So let's dive in, and at the end I'll share a key technical considerations checklist to make your trailer shine, as well as an example trailer showcasing everything we're about to discuss.
You can find the full video below, or continue reading the adapted text version.
First, let's briefly talk about why trailers are so crucial at launch. The issue is this: your game won't sell your game, your trailer will. You can have the best game in the world, but if you can't show people why they should try it in the first place, many won't. So I'll say it again... you can't treat marketing as an afterthought to game development, it should be part of game development. If you spent years making a game, but only a few weeks making something enticing to buy, you're not allocating your time optimally.
So, how do you make a trailer that catches attention even without mixed reality capture? Let's break it down into three simple lessons.
Highlights
The first, and perhaps most important, lesson we're going to discuss today is highlights. Highlights are what make your game stand out. They're the specific thing that makes people see it and say "I want to do that".
It could be great combat, a unique art style, creative weapons, or some interesting mechanic that other games of the same type don't have. It's what sets your game apart.
Whatever your highlight is, it should be entertaining or interesting in a way that distinguishes it from other games of the same genre (yes, that means you should actively play some games in the genre you're working on). Without a highlight, people won't clearly see why they should buy your game over similar ones.
And one very important thing to understand: to have a highlight in your trailer... your game needs a highlight. If you don't know what your game's highlight is yet... finding that highlight is the first step before considering making a trailer.
Alright, now let's look at an example of a highlight marketing strategy. The first trailer we're going to look at is for a game called Hellsweeper VR (2023) by Mixed Realms. Watch it and see if you can tell me what the highlight is:
So, what's the highlight? If you said "unique combat," you're right. Before any branding appears, we see 10 seconds of genuinely unique VR combat footage, with the player flying in the air using interesting weapons and abilities.
And the entire trailer emphasizes the game's combat. They don't pause for a dull story or some abstract narration that isn't engaging, they simply keep showcasing the highlight. This trailer is telling the audience "this is why you want to play our game."
Showing, not telling
Which brings us to the next point: showing, not telling. A good trailer doesn't tell you how great a game is, it shows you. This is even more important in VR - people need to see the fun to understand why they should put on the headset to experience your game.
Perfectly embodying this concept is the trailer for "Boneworks" (2019) developed by Stress Level Zero. Let's watch it:
This trailer strings together many unique moments of gameplay from the game, leaving us with a sense of what it feels like to play.
Story structure
Next, we come to the third lesson: storytelling. Now, it's important to understand that "storytelling" doesn't mean explaining your game's story. Your goal is to show the audience what they will be doing and how they will feel when playing the game. So that's the story your trailer should tell.
While capturing general gameplay footage and stitching these clips together might be tempting, it's better to decide in advance what the most important things you want the audience to see are.
Not only should you decide which moments you want to showcase, but also arrange them into a story structure. Simply put, this means having an introduction, a rising action, and a climax that leaves a lasting impression on the viewers.
This brings us to the trailer for Respawn's game《荣誉勋章：超越极限》（2020）的预告片由Entertainment制作，展示了精心编排的瞬间来创造一个连贯的故事，让玩家能够体验到游戏中的感觉。
技术清单中提到了几个关键技术考虑因素。首先是使用平滑的旁观相机来捕捉预告片画面，以避免在平面屏幕上播放时因玩家头部的移动而导致画面不稳定。其次是以60帧每秒的速度捕捉画面，以使观众更容易理解画面中的运动。此外，还提到了调整画面亮度以适应普通显示器的需求，以及确保初始画面捕捉和最终视频输出具有高质量。
在最后的预告片示例中，展示了亮点、展示而非告诉、讲故事等关键要素的运用。
如果喜欢本文，请查看其他XR设计和洞察力文章，并留下评论以推荐讨论哪些游戏或应用程序。
